Reach Out to a Broken Sun
Act I: Beheading Fist, Running Spirit Another series of explosions took place. Again and again, the same thing kept repeating itself. It was an endless cycle of boring, repetitive conflict. People died again and again, but to no avail. Everything was at that same standpoint. The barracks full of Shinigami who wished to defend the place they knew as home, once colored serenely in bright white walls and auburn roofs, soon were marred with a charcoal black. And on top of all that, I stood. At the top of my own barracks was a burned flag; a white flag, to be precise, ornate with a red sun, with paint smeared across it. This was my purpose, it was to rally about the death of all things for a new beginning. And as I looked upon the destruction I was causing, I noticed those few people whom I once, or perhaps still did, held genuine emotion for. , , . All of these people, whose kind faces I woke up to every morning...were smeared in the blood of my design. I had created this chaos, and I resolved to end it herein. I clutched my zanpakutō, and I asked it one simple question, "Bima-kun, will you stay by my side...forever...regardless of what I do from now on?" Its voice was silent initially. I took this as a bad sign, and as I was about to move on to do my final deed, it called out, "Of course, Tenma-san. Your wishes are the only reason for my existence. It is my duty to help you complete them." His childish voice echoed across my body, rejuvenating it with a newfound sense of obligation, of duty. I was once again ready, ready to face the Sun. With nothing but a step, my figure disappeared from the roof of the Barracks. My hair, as I could feel it, was billowing with the wind, its silver strands leaving behind but a flicker of my former lifetime. And without any delay, I had reached, to what might have been my final stand. The barracks, in front of the reigning Sword Demon, the founder of Genryū, my own Master, . The man stood there before me, in all of his power, radiance, glory...and flames. He, in this one moment, stood to be everything that I could not become. I believed myself to be a true leader, but I was not. I believed myself to be an inspiration to others, but I was not. It was as if...I was comparing myself to a lion, while I was no more than a fox. No matter how much I connive, scheme and plan; everything falls to ruin when in face of a King. " !" His voice echoed to me like a heat wave, and I opened my eyes in nervousness. "Do you realize...what you have done!?" His voice pierced through me...no, it was not his voice, it was his question. It was the very question that I kept asking myself, again and again. Throughout this entire war, what have I been doing? "Answer me!" He interrupted my thought processes, forcing me to look straight into his eyes. As tall and intimidating as he was, I answered, "I have committed nothing wrong, Head Captain Shigekuni Yamamoto. My only fault lies in my inability to recognize that you would become a miscalculation in my plans." His eyes looked at me, once more with the very gaze that frightened me as a child, "And what are these 'plans' of yours, Takamori Tenma?" He asked me once more, causing me to reevaluate my perspective on life. "My plans...were to create a world where there was no distinction. A world where the poor didn't have to suffer just because the rich had a greater fortune than them! A world where luck and fortune don't exist! A world where blessings from the Kami themselves don't exist! A world purely reliant on one's own ability to move through anything they can steadfastly. Talent would not be achieved through one's gifts, they would be achieved through pure hard work and determination! I wish for a world...where we are no longer beneath the sun, but we are its companions!" I told him...I had finally understood what my goal was, and now that I knew, I was adamant on it being complete. "Pitiful." He told me; that very word almost shattered my resolve, made me question my intentions once more. I...was breaking. "Your pathetic ideologies are something that only scum would dare come up with. Standing next to the sun? How foolish. Let me show you...the truth of your ideals!" In that very moment, the Sword Demon drew his prized blade, lunging at me with a demonic aura surrounding him. At that moment, a voice called out to me. "Tenma-san!" Instantly, I raised my blade, parrying his lunge with a horizontal block with Kyōbima's saya. "Do not doubt yourself! Fight for the cause you've wished for all your life!" He told me, once again providing me with a newfound confidence. In that short moment of time, I drew my sword, blocking the Demon's own horizontal slash by stamping my own blade to the ground, causing a quake of such ferocity that the ground itself trembled. Was I up to the challenge? I didn't know, but it appears I was nonetheless. With every strike he made, I parried accordingly. His overhead vertical slash was responded with an overhead horizontal deflection. It was a swords dance, quite literally. Each and every movement was accompanied with, what I saw, a blistering display of footwork. As he stepped forward, I stepped backwards, and then as I stepped sidewards, he evaded with a circular sequence of steps. The battle wasn't getting anywhere, as I noted. After all, even with over twenty minutes of conflict, all we managed to achieve was to barely scrape one another's uniforms. "Ikkotsu!" The Demon raised his arm towards his chest, gathering incredible levels of force before expelling it out in a condensed wave of tremendous pillar. Just like a blade, it flew, and just like a shield, I opened my palms in a cup formation, making physical contact with the pressure exuding from the force of the attack to dispel it, leaving slight burns from the immense speed of the technique. Yet I had no time left to spare, the man honed in, and like a blade's edge, his , rotating like the tip of a katana. My senses peaked at that very moment, and with barely enough time to spare, I , skidding in front of a wall that was behind me. At that moment, my former sensei had instantaneously returned to the position where he left his katana, and picked it up with his right hand. His intent was obliteration, that much I could see. To cement my fears, he clutched the hilt of Ryūjin Jakka with both hands, and gradually slid his left foot forward, and kept his sword overhead. In that very instant, I understood his intention...and began to prepare for the consequences immediately. With only a moment to spare, I inverted my posture entirely. From a forward, center-stance, I shifted the point of my blade to behind me, with its hilt protruding in front of me. I calmed myself, made my emotions unreadable, and in that moment, my stance became absolutely ambiguous. That...was only the good news though. Because in that moment, my sensei had completed his preparations, and with nothing but an overhead strike, he let out a cry, "Ryōdan!" In that cry lied the destruction of the entire world before me; vibrant amber spiritual energy flowed from his blade to the ground before him, before expanding into a colossal wave of nothing more than flames. The hungry, savage flames raced towards me and in all my fear, I could only do one thing, "Nadegiri!" I cried out as if it were my only hope, and in that moment my sword arm hadn't moved downward, it moved upward. Focusing each and every ounce of my strength into a vertical slash, it erupted into a thin line of pure violet pressure, cutting through the tremendous flames that had dared to harm me and my goals. Act II: Bridge of Flowing Flames "You have improved marginally, that much I must admit, Takamori Tenma." Shigekuni's words of appreciation cut through me like a knife cut through butter. It was one thing for him to praise me, it was another for him to praise me with such regret! I felt like I was being chastised, like I was his student and he was my master once again. I couldn't take it! "I do not require your acknowledge, Shigekuni Yamamoto. It is ascertained that we are unable to continue this battle further if we stall like this. Prepare yourself, Head Captain. Today, your Ryūjin Jakka shall be contested!" I announced to him, like some kind of child attempting to gain recognition. And...he saw right through it, and what did he do in response? Smile; of course he would smile, it was the perfect way to gain a psychological advantage. "Your tricks won't move me, old man." I told him, thinking that I was superior even for but a moment. And then, barely underneath my audible breath, I announced, "Provide a Solution, Kyōbima!" At that moment, I sheathed my blade, clasping the hilt and blade together to form a minor shockwave of pure sound, causing spiritual power to erupt from the blade and engulf my figure briefly. And then it disappeared; all of it disappeared, my blade and my sheath, leaving only the hilt and teeth-like guard left. This was the first time in a long time that I had truly been able to release my Shikai, especially in front of the Head Captain of all things. He had shown a bit of surprise; after all, the blade had marginally changed since its first use. Nonetheless, I didn't pause, and immediately uttered the command, "Flourish, Sōka!" In that very instant, I placed my sword towards the sky that I wished to reach, emitting a pulse of spiritual energy that radiated outward from my frame. The force of the impact was so tremendous that the very ground beneath me began to upturn, sending itself towards my opponent in the form of hundreds of boulders. And yet, like everything else, it was useless. All he had to do was put that damned blade before him, and everything erupted into a wave of cascading flames. It irritated me so much, but it didn't matter to me. I kept my focus, and in that very instant I produced a Kendō strike with the hilt of the blade, which immediately swathed through the sea of flames, parting it in two. More Coming Soon... Act III: Remnants of Sanity Trivia *Act I's name is the translation of "Zankensoki", the Four Shinigami Combat Forms. *Act II's name is taken from components of the Shikai of both combatants. *Act III's name is partially influenced by Yamamoto's Bankai. *Credit to the layout of this one-shot goes to Seireitou who made a one-shot of a canon character in a similar format.